How can I begin to describe the blessings God has bestowed upon me in these last few weeks? The days have been full, in so many ways. My internship reached the halfway point this past Monday, and I am excited to say that things are picking up. I have been spending a lot of time on the phone and in the car, making contacts and gaining information. The directory that i've been working at over the last several weeks is almost complete. Beyond that, things are happening in the church and around LaFayette. The church is looking to start an ESL program and hopefully partner with organizations in the area to provide quality, secure, and legitimate methods of saving for local Hispanics. They are also hoping to join Hope for Chattanooga in an effort to serve the community on a more holistic level.
The days are always interesting. Today I drove all the way to LaFayette, just to talk to the woman behind the counter of "The Real Deal" -which is a strange little general store on Main Street in LaFayette. I was hoping to speak with the Pastor of Harbor Lights, who owns the place; however, this lady was fairly helpful in telling me about what I had come for. The community dinner starts at 5:30 on Wednesday night.
On Sunday I drove out to Dalton and joined in on the party at Grace Presbyyterian Church. They have an incredible Hispanic ministry, and have given me some really solid advice. That, and they know how to throw a party. I love tortilla soup! When trying to sneak out at the end, Pastor Carlos snagged me, and made me come up to the pulpit and write my cell on it. Love him, you know?
Beginning this Sunday, I will be moderating focus groups in church small groups. The goal of these is to get a better idea of the gifts congregation members have, and their level of willingness to make use of these for the benefit of the church and of LaFayette. I've been working through these for several weeks now, and can't wait to see how they go.
In other news, having people back in town for school is fabulous. I am living in my own house (hurrah!!!) along with three good friends. We are enjoying each other very much, to say the least. God has blessed me with these girls. Other than that, I am waiting on my car to be fixed. I pass it almost every day in the little auto body shop, and wave. Well not really. But I probably should.